Chapter 4 - The House With No Toys
My house had four bedrooms.
None of them had toys.
Lily noticed immediately.
“Do children live here?”
“No.”
“Ever?”
“No.”
Owen looked around.
“It's really clean.”
Marco, carrying two emergency overnight bags CPS had provided, laughed.
“That means he doesn't know how children work yet.”
I gave him a look.
Lily giggled.
It was the first time I'd heard either child laugh.
Rebecca had authorized temporary emergency placement after several exhausting hours of paperwork and verification.
It wasn't custody.
It wasn't adoption.
It was one night.
Then another decision would come.
I made macaroni and cheese.
Owen stared at it.
“What?”
“You made this?”
“Yes.”
“By yourself?”
“Yes.”
He cautiously tasted it.
His expression became serious.
“Colonel?”
“Yes?”
“You should stay in the Army.”
Lily burst out laughing.
Even I smiled.
Then the doorbell rang.
Marco stood outside.
His expression told me the news wasn't good.
I stepped onto the porch.
“What happened?”
“Police searched Vanessa's luggage.”
“And?”
“They found passports.”
“So?”
“Three passports.”
I waited.
“Hers. Lily's. Owen's.”
My smile vanished.
“Why would she have the twins' passports if she intended to leave them behind?”
“Exactly.”
Marco continued.
“They also found financial documents related to the children's trust.”
“What kind?”
“Transfer paperwork.”
“To whom?”
“A holding company.”
“Owned by?”
“Vanessa.”
I looked through the window.
The twins were drawing at the kitchen table.
“She was moving their money.”
“Looks that way.”
“Then why abandon them?”
“Investigators think she intended to establish that she'd surrendered responsibility, leave the country, and make tracing the money difficult.”
I clenched my jaw.
“Andrew knew.”
“Maybe.”
Marco hesitated.
“There's something else.”
“What?”
“Captain Mercer's vehicle accident.”
I stared at him.
“What about it?”
“The original police report mentions brake failure.”
My stomach tightened.
Marco lowered his voice.
“Vanessa increased Andrew's life-insurance policy six weeks before he died.”
“Tell investigators.”
“Already did.”
A voice came from behind me.
“Was my daddy scared?”
I turned.
Lily stood in the doorway.
I didn't know how much she'd heard.
I crouched.
“Come here.”
She walked toward me.
“Did Vanessa hurt Daddy?”
“I don't know.”
“You think she did.”
Children hear what adults try to hide.
“We're going to let the police find the truth.”
Lily's eyes filled.
“What happens if she goes to jail?”
“That isn't something you need to worry about tonight.”
“Where do we go?”
I glanced at Marco.
Then back at her.
“For tonight, you stay here.”
“And tomorrow?”
I couldn't promise what I didn't control.
“Tomorrow, we fight for tomorrow.”
She studied my face.
“Daddy used to say that.”
I swallowed.
“Did he?”
“When Owen got scared.”
She wrapped her arms around my neck.
I froze.
Twenty-five years of military training offered absolutely no instructions for this.
Marco smiled.
“Sir?”
“What?”
“You're supposed to hug her back.”
I did.
Later that night, Owen appeared in my bedroom doorway.
“Colonel?”
I checked the clock.
2:17 a.m.
“What happened?”
“I had a bad dream.”
I moved over.
He climbed onto the bed carrying Sergeant Bear.
A minute later, Lily appeared.
“Me too.”
She climbed in from the other side.
Within minutes, both were asleep.
I stared at the ceiling.
My phone buzzed.
Rebecca.
I answered quietly.
“Steel.”
Her voice was tense.
“Colonel, we have a problem.”
“What?”
“Someone filed an emergency custody petition.”
“Who?”
“A relative of Vanessa's.”
“Which relative?”
“Her brother.”
May you like
I sat up.
“And he's claiming you unlawfully took the children.”
